How to hire a user experience designer

How to hire a user experience designer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step user experience designer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a user experience designer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new user experience designer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a user experience designer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The user experience designer hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A user experience designer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, user experience designers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents user experience designer salaries for various positions.

   Type of User Experience Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   User Experience Designer	Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for various applications such as advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.	$31-61
   Layout Designer	A layout designer is responsible for designing and creating attractive layouts for publications and marketing materials. Layout designers utilize various software design applications and systems, requiring them to have excellent computer skills for efficient navigation... Show more	$28-71
   Designer	A designer is someone who creates a master plan of the look or workings of something before it will be made. It could be tangible or intangible objects, products, procedures, laws, events, games, graphics, services, and even experiences... Show more	$21-46

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sketch
   • UI
   • User Research
   • Visual Design
   • Invision
   • Interaction Design
   • Prototyping
   • Html Css
   • XD
   • JavaScript
   • Human Centered Design
   • Develop User
   • User Interface
   • Axure

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead Ektron CMS implementations and content migration projects.
   • Lead UX/UI design, personas research and emphatic analysis, participate in user story creation.
   • Lead and administrate the creative direction of WorkFusion crowd computing platform and its iOS apps.
   • Lead design working sessions, create storyboards and a Visio wireframe library for all project elements.
   • Work with the Java developers/programs to achieve timely development and review of assignments to assure on--time project completion.
   • Design and code original and cms-base websites / user interfaces using HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP

   More user experience designer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the user experience designer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A user experience designer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a user experience designer in Wisconsin may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level user experience designer. Additionally, a user experience designer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average user experience designer salary

   $91,159yearly

   $43.83 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level user experience designer salary

   $65,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average user experience designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$118,550	$57
   2	Washington	$117,198	$56
   3	District of Columbia	$98,115	$47
   4	Massachusetts	$95,691	$46
   5	New York	$93,734	$45
   6	New Jersey	$92,959	$45
   7	Virginia	$91,560	$44
   8	Arizona	$85,480	$41
   9	Oregon	$85,461	$41
   10	Pennsylvania	$82,206	$40
   11	Texas	$80,904	$39
   12	North Carolina	$80,025	$38
   13	Colorado	$79,388	$38
   14	Minnesota	$78,446	$38
   15	Illinois	$78,429	$38
   16	Maine	$77,832	$37
   17	Michigan	$77,746	$37
   18	Utah	$76,519	$37
   19	Florida	$76,516	$37
   20	Missouri	$75,101	$36

   Average user experience designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	BitGo	$150,433	$72.32
   2	Airbnb	$150,323	$72.27
   3	ByteDance	$149,889	$72.06	3
   4	Meta	$149,078	$71.67	618
   5	Apple	$142,993	$68.75	40
   6	Display Social	$142,828	$68.67
   7	Zenefits	$141,384	$67.97
   8	Zoox	$139,220	$66.93	5
   9	Google	$138,840	$66.75	175
   10	Netflix	$135,642	$65.21	12
   11	PayPal	$135,635	$65.21	17
   12	Zocdoc	$134,644	$64.73	3
   13	Roku	$134,602	$64.71
   14	Dotdash	$133,353	$64.11
   15	Microsoft	$132,830	$63.86	83
   16	eBay	$132,108	$63.51	2
   17	Course Hero	$131,560	$63.25
   18	Addepar	$131,234	$63.09	3
   19	Upstart Network	$130,071	$62.53
   20	Cloudflare	$129,323	$62.17

4. Writing a user experience designer job description

   A user experience designer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a user experience designer job description:

   User experience designer job description example

   At Jabil we strive to make ANYTHING POSSIBLE and EVERYTHING BETTER. With over 260,000 diverse, talented and dedicated employees across 100 locations in 30 countries, our vision is to be the most technologically advanced and trusted manufacturing solutions provider. We combine an unmatched breadth and depth of end-market experience, technical and design capabilities, manufacturing know-how, supply chain insights and global product management expertise to enable success for the world's leading brands. We are driven by a common purpose to make a positive impact for each other, our communities, and the environment.
   
   We are looking for a strong lead to help build out our UI/UX offering. We are looking for someone who can inspire fellow researchers and designers and lead with both empathy and conviction for the people we design for. You have a passion for solving complex problems and driving digital/customer solutions. As UI/UX Lead, you will play a crucial role throughout the entire project process - using research to inspire our design teams, inform better prototypes, and elevate the perspective of our clients.
   WHAT YOU WILL DO:
   Ensure the creation and implementation of customized experiences for the digital user Identify target user groups and carry out interviews or other types of inquiry to help understand user needs Take a user-centered design approach and rapidly test and iterate your designs Produce high-quality solutions through flow diagrams, prototypes, storyboards and site maps (via Figma) Provide guidance on the implementation of UX research techniques and testing activities to assess user behavior Identify design problems and devise elegant solutions Maintain a competitive edge against competitor products and industry trends Perform tests on user interface elements such as heuristic evaluations or priority mapping Understand product specifications and user psychology and predict what might work for both
   
   MINIMUM EDUCATIONAL & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:
   8+ years of qualitative research experience Awareness of technical platforms, business models, subject matter, and trends - with a focus on digital;Skilled in areas of consumer/user research and analysis, personas and customer journeys, ideation and brainstorming techniques, sketching, prototyping, and concept validation;Skilled in developing requirements, developing architecture, navigation and wireframes and producing low and high fidelity prototypes;Strong problem solver and creative thinker;Strong digital knowledge or experience with particular emphasis on strategy, consulting, team management and product development;Track record of leading and managing teams;Strong presentation skills with a creative and compelling storytelling style;Business and consulting savvy, with an ability to think strategically;Innate curiosity, and a passion for telling compelling human stories;Experience in developing wireframes via Figma
   
   PREFERRED EXPERIENCE
   Knowledge of front end code to assist in development team communications
   
   BE AWARE OF FRAUD: When applying for a job at Jabil you will be contacted via correspondence through our official job portal with a jabil.com e-mail address; direct phone call from a member of the Jabil team; or direct e-mail with a jabil.com e-mail address. Jabil does not request payments for interviews or at any other point during the hiring process. Jabil will not ask for your personal identifying information such as a social security number, birth certificate, financial institution, driver's license number or passport information over the phone or via e-mail. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, contact the Federal Bureau of Investigations internet crime hotline (www.ic3.gov), the Federal Trade Commission identity theft hotline
   (www.identitytheft.gov)
   and/or your local police department. Any scam job listings should be reported to whatever website it was posted in.
   
   Jabil, including its subsidiaries, is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find user experience designers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any user experience designers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level user experience designers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your user experience designer job on Zippia to find and attract quality user experience designer candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit user experience designers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new user experience designer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the user experience designer position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new user experience designer first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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